Andy Dunn

We do not talk enough about spirit in business, yet it is what moves employees, customers, and shareholders alike.

The act of founding a company is its own act of narcissism: 'I alone can do this.'

Marc Lore has been a mentor of mine for a long time. He taught me how to hire people and how to do the hardest thing in business, which is to make a great culture. I believe Marc is the most innovative and ambitious e-commerce entrepreneur on the planet.

Graduating business school, I had $150,000 of debt. An investment firm offered me a steady job, but it didn't feel right. It was 2007 in Silicon Valley, and I dreamed of starting an Internet company.

With more women in the workplace and in positions of power and leadership, with the legalization of gay marriage and the emerging liberation of the LGBTQ community, traditional definitions of masculinity are changing for the better.

A good idea is not enough. It must be the fit of a particular idea for a particular entrepreneur and, ideally, unfair advantages in why said particular entrepreneur is going to address said particular idea.

A great merchant delivers both joy and profit. Then profit gets reinvested in more joy.

Oddly, I believe that emotional proximity we feel to close loved ones makes it hard to be honest with them about feelings of depression.

A founder plays a magical role at the company: they invented or, as in my case, co-invented it. If and when a founder walks out the door, there is something spiritual that walks out the door, too.

My own belief is all men should be feminists, and with enthusiasm.

From Nike, we buy victory. From Under Armour, we buy protection. From Lululemon, we buy zen. From Patagonia, we buy conservation. From BMW, we buy performance.

I'm not naive enough to believe it's in our nature to step outside our comfort zones.